Stormwatch

Stormwatch

Turnpike repairs

Local
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4/28/2013 8:54 PM

BECKLEY - Turnpike authorities say that toll hikes are going a long way to improve road conditions. Consulting engineer Randy Epperly says only 40 percent of the Turnpike was considered to be in "good to very good shape" before the tolls increased in 2009. Now, that number has jumped to 70 percent, and Epperly says he expects 80 percent of the Turnpike to get that rating by 2019. Money from the toll increase is helping to pay for an overhaul of the 88-mile highway from Charleston to Princeton.